Report says Skaneateles football recruited students

Published 12:00 am, Thursday, October 27, 2011

SKANEATELES (AP) -- An investigation conducted by an upstate New York school district where former Syracuse University All-American and ex-NFL player Tim Green is the head football coach found evidence that some of the team's coaches tried to improperly recruit students from other schools.

However, the five-page report released Wednesday by the Skaneateles School District does not name Green or any of his coaches. Green, who played for the Atlanta Falcons and is also a lawyer, said he had talked to all his coaches and all denied the allegations.

"While I'm happy the report does not implicate me in any way, I'm extremely disappointed that the findings are based on statements that absolutely are not credible -- statements of rumor, innuendo and exaggeration that in my mind were not properly balanced by any countervailing point of view or even common sense," Green said Thursday.

The report says the district's investigation found that Skaneateles coaches tried to improperly recruit at least nine players from other schools over the past two school years. It does not cite any violations involving students currently on the varsity roster.

During the investigation, school district lawyer Thomas Seeley consulted with attorneys for Section III and the state athletic association to get clarification of the recruiting rule. In the report, the district said it struggled to interpret the meaning of the rule barring a coach from using "undue influence" to recruit a player.

The district determined that the rule prohibits coaches from even trying to recruit players from other teams. The report also said the district was requesting that Section III and the state clarify the recruiting rule. New York state athletic association rules prohibit anyone connected with a school from recruiting a student to transfer for the purpose of participating in sports.

Green's first season as head coach was in 2010, when his team went 1-7. The team is 8-0 this season and ranked third in the state.

Section III athletic officials will decide whether to impose a penalty against the team.

Potential penalties range from forfeiture of victories to future sanctions, including removing a school from competition for a year.